爆料社区

Don鈥檛 worry about sentient robots attacking humanity and wiping out the planet 鈥� it鈥檚 your staff members and kids with AI apps on their smart phones that you really need to be paying attention to. 

Because artificial intelligence is here, and its implementation across just about every walk of life and sector 鈥� including sport and recreation 鈥� is being driven from the ground up. 

鈥淟iterally in the last few months the world has changed,鈥� Greg Cross, the Kiwi tech entrepreneur whose company Soul Machines is leading the development of what is known as 鈥榗ognitive modelling鈥�, told an audience of sport and recreation leaders at 爆料社区鈥檚 Connections 2023 conference. 

鈥淵our kids are literally doing their homework using chat GPT today. This is not technology that lives in an IT department. That was last year. This year this is innovation that is being driven by consumers and it is changing every aspect of our society. 

鈥淚t is one of the most exciting eras in the history of the human race.鈥� 

While the movie industry has taught us to fear the rise of intelligent machines who will destroy humanity, the 鈥榯hreat鈥� of AI is actually much more mundane. 

鈥淥ne of the myths out there is that AI is bad - AI is going to steal our jobs,鈥� said Cross.  

鈥淭here is some truth to that. It is going to be disruptive to industries and jobs and the way we go about providing useful services in return for money. 

鈥淏ut we have seen many, many technologies before. Technology has always disrupted and changed the way we do things and AI will have that result.鈥� 

But that doesn鈥檛 mean that change 鈥� nor AI itself 鈥� is bad. 

Through cognitive modelling, which simulates human problem-solving and mental processing in a computerised model, Soul Machines has developed Nova 鈥� a synthetic avatar that mimics human behaviour. In other words: the world鈥檚 first model of a person. 

鈥淭hese are not completely sentient people but they can respond, emotionally connect with us and interact in real life. They are the most digitally alive avatars possible today. 

鈥淵ou can go to Nova and have a chat about anything.鈥� 

The company helps brands, celebrities and influencers create compelling personal experiences at scale for online audiences in every digital world. 

It has made avatars of sports legends like basketballer Carmelo Anthony and golfer Jack Nicklaus. 

These avatars are capable of chatting with fans online 鈥� in multiple languages. 

鈥淸Human] Jack doesn鈥檛 speak a word of mandarin or Japanese and yet today digital Jack is representing one of the biggest golf merchandising companies in the world in Tokyo speaking Japanese to the people who visit the website 鈥� and speaking Japanese in his own voice. 

鈥淭hink of the potential of this in terms of the future of fan experience.鈥� 

In the world of combat sports, a digital version of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou would soon be playing a pivotal role in the richest combat sports event of all time 鈥� Ngannou鈥檚 boxing showdown with Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia. 

鈥淭he whole world of sport is rapidly becoming about 鈥榟ow do we repackage content in a way that delivers experiences that will engage the next generation of consumers鈥�?鈥� Cross said. 

AI would be at the forefront of that evolution. 

Digital celebrities will be an important part of how we personalise and curate experiences for fans.  

For sector leaders in New Zealand, leadership meant having a position on AI and 鈥渢hat doesn鈥檛 mean burying your head in the sand and saying 鈥榥ot us鈥�.鈥� 

AI was now a part of life whether we liked it not. Just as students are using Chat GPT as a tool for completing assignments, time-poor employees would now use AI whether or not it was sanctioned by their employers. 

鈥淚t is a world where innovation at speed is going to be incredibly important. It is a world of productivity, brand experience and fan engagement that will impact every single one of your organisations 鈥� and the way in which you connect with your consumers and your fans.鈥� 

But AI won鈥檛 kill us (hopefully not) 鈥� and won鈥檛 steal our jobs. Well, not all of them. 

鈥淗ow do you really connect? A real connection is an emotional connection,鈥� said Cross. 

鈥淪o I don鈥檛 believe that AI is going to replace human story telling.鈥� 

AI generators such as Chat GPT are what is known as large language models. They consume all of the content of the internet and use that knowledge to try to predict what word comes next. That is not a technology that can replace human thought. 

Although, as Cross states: 鈥淭he more you use AI, the more you interact with it, the better and smarter it gets.鈥� 

Hear more in the full presentation video >